Of Russian origin, Wadim (Bill) Jegorow, AM, MBE was aged 16 when his family fled to Australia from a refugee camp in West Germany in 1951. In Sydney he studied social welfare and law eventually joining the New South Wales public service as a lawyer.

Bill became involved in local government and was an alderman of Ashfield Council from 1959 to 1987. His contribution to the municipality was recognised by the council with the naming of a park in Haberfield in his honour.

During the 1970s and 1980s he was member of the multicultural advisory committees to Prime Ministers’ Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke. Bill began working with migrant communities in the early 1970s and was the foundation president of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW.

In 1977 he was appointed as the part-time Deputy Chair of the Ethnic Affairs Commission and later full-time Deputy Chair of the Ethnic Affairs Commission until 1986.

He championed the needs of migrants to all levels of government.

He contributed to the establishment of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia, representing the interests of Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and served as its foundation Chairperson.

In 2004 he received the Community Relations Commission Medal in gold.